Snapchat launched a new digital safety course for teens Wednesday, targeting several key risks young users could encounter online.
The program, called The Keys, aims to educate teens about bullying, illicit drug activity, nude and intimate images and sextortion through a course that takes inspiration from driver’s education, the company said in a press release.
“There’s one piece in the classroom, and then you learn the practical skills when you actually get in the car and drive,” explained Jodi Seth, global head of policy communications at Snap.
“That’s how we’re thinking about this program. That’s what inspired it,” she continued. “There’s some videos and learning and then actual practice on how to identify these things.”
The course takes teens through videos, interactive reflections and scenarios about potential online risks, in addition to walking through Snapchat’s safety features, settings and reporting tools.
“Despite all of the educational programs out there, you’ve heard about a million programs about bullying, but parents are still saying that they worry their kids don’t have the practical knowledge and skills to navigate these online platforms,” Seth added.
Snapchat’s new safety course comes at a moment when kids’ online safety is back at the forefront of policy discussions.
Several Meta whistleblowers raised concerns in a recent disclosure to Congress, accusing the company of doctoring and restricting research into safety issues. Meta has pushed back on the allegations, calling the claims “nonsense.”
Both Meta and OpenAI have also faced backlash recently over the impact of their artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots on children, leading them to enact changes to how their chatbots interact with young users.
Snapchat itself has previously come under scrutiny over its handling of drug-related issues on the platform, with Snap CEO Evan Spiegel appearing before Congress last year alongside several other tech leaders to discuss kids’ safety issues.
